Following are news briefs from Catholic News Service for June 1, 2017.
Church leaders welcome leaked HHS draft lifting contraceptive mandate
WASHINGTON (CNS) — A leaked draft rule from the Department of Health and Human Services exempting religious groups from the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act was welcomed by church officials and attorneys representing the Little Sisters of the Poor, one of the groups that challenged the mandate at the U.S. Supreme Court. Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, said in a June 1 statement that the leaked draft has “yet to be formally issued and will require close study upon publication,” but it provides encouraging news. “Relief like this is years overdue and would be most welcomed,” he said. The archbishop noted that if the ruling is issued it would “lift the government-imposed burden on our ministries to violate their own teachings within their very own institutions.” He also said the draft of the HHS regulations reflects common sense and a long-held practice of the federal government to provide strong conscience protection in the area of health care. “Better late than never,” said Mark Rienzi, senior counsel with Becket, the law firm representing the Little Sisters of the Poor. “At long last the United States government acknowledges that people can get contraceptives without forcing nuns to provide them.
Vatican official urges use of language that builds trust among nations
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Cardinal Peter Turkson, a top adviser to Pope Francis, questioned how well President Donald Trump’s declarations of “America first” serve understanding across the broader global community. “That’s a language that I think is not useful to speak because it makes the others say, ‘Who are we?'” Cardinal Turkson, prefect of the Vatican’s new Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, said in an interview with Catholic News Service May 31. The Vatican, he said, defers to local bishops’ conferences — in this case the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops — to respond if it so chooses. But he said leaders in other countries could question why the U.S. sets itself above others. “I don’t think it makes for the atmosphere of trust,” Cardinal Turkson said. The cardinal was at Georgetown University in Washington to attend a three-day meeting of leaders of U.S. academic centers focused on Catholic social thought. The gathering was designed to allow center directors and faculty to discuss ways to more broadly share Catholic social teaching and advance the message of Pope Francis in the universal church, said John Carr, director of the university’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life.